


Picking Up a Jinchūriki

by Arrveolantrath



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alcohol, Bad Flirting, Bad Pick-Up Lines, Celebrations, Cuddles, Drunk Kakashi is Clingy, Drunk Logic, Drunk Shenanigans, Drunk confessions, Fluff, Hatake Kakashi is Bad at Feelings, Hugs, Kakashi is Smashed, Love Confessions, M/M, Naruto is Slightly Inebriated, Or not so secret, Post-War, Secret Crush, but it works - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 07:34:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28578315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arrveolantrath/pseuds/Arrveolantrath
Summary: Sharingan is red,Rasengan is blue,Now let me cuddle you.OrKakashi overdoes it with the alcohol, and Naruto is left to deal with his unexpectedly affectionate, drunk ex-sensei. Who also happens to be the man he loves.Set during the first winter after the war.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 20
Kudos: 215





	Picking Up a Jinchūriki

**Author's Note:**

  * For [GhostMolars](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=GhostMolars), [Asukan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asukan/gifts).



> Late, but Happy Holidays!  
> This is a gift to the people who gave me ideas for this fic. It wouldn't exist without you.

Kakashi downed another drink and looked around. The alcohol already pervaded his body and made the room swim in and out of focus. 

So maybe he did have a bit too much. No, scratch that, he  _ did _ have too much. Such competitions with Gai tended to end with an extreme after all. And how could he not indulge his friend, especially now that the variety was cut down so significantly? 

He wanted to drink more just thinking about that later point. 

But now was not the time for the depressing thoughts, especially when Gai himself wasn’t feeling down about it. In fact he was animatedly talking to his prized student - all exuberant energy, power of youth, and holiday spirit. 

Now was a time for celebrations. This mid-winter holiday was the first they could celebrate properly after dealing with the mess leftover from the fourth war and all the conflicts preceding it. His eyes scanned the room for a suitable distraction from the melancholia. 

Finding one did not take long at all. 

Said distraction sat on the floor with a bunch of his friends. And what a distraction it was! Naruto really grew up well, and that was an objective fact. His eyes greedily tracked the blonde’s movement as his former student spun a tale about yet another ridiculous adventure. 

Cheeks flushed with the heat of the pub and a little alcohol, light perspiration making the simple shirt stick to his body, every little shuffle drawing attention to the well-developed physique for anyone who cared to look. Eyes lighting up with a myriad of various emotions as the tale progressed. Hair falling in haphazard locks with stray strands sticking out like a bird’s nest from all the roughhousing. 

But the physical traits took a backseat when one was faced with his strength, his kindness, compassion, honesty, and loyalty. His desire to help every last person he met. 

It still amazed Kakashi as it did many people just what Naruto was capable of and how he stayed so optimistic through it all, to cheer everyone on. Rightfully so - Naruto was an amazing person after all. He kept surprising everyone he met, even those who knew him for a long time. He was amazing, wonderful, lovely, friendly, positive and so many other great adjectives. 

Yes, he definitely grew up well. And the distraction definitely worked.

At one point during the storytelling, Naruto overreached and ended up falling slightly to the side before catching himself, still not completely used to the absence of his dominant hand. He laughed it off as usual. 

Kakashi frowned. He suddenly wanted to go over there and sit next to the blonde - catch his falls, let him lean on the jounin’s back like he did so many times in the past. Wanted to lean on Naruto and stay there surrounded by the boy’s warmth and scent. 

His drunk logic concluded that the best thing to do was to drag Naruto home and cuddle with him on the bed. They’d be most comfortable there - safe, warm, and alone where no one would interrupt the cuddles and whatever else might follow. 

Kakashi felt like there was something off with his drunk logic. It made such perfect sense though. He shoved the concern to the back of his mind. Let his sober logic deal with it. The man nodded to himself and watched the table right itself in his line of vision. Maybe the table was drunk too. He’d have to ask Tenzo what kind of experiments he’d been doing to get a drunk table from his mokuton. 

With cuddles in mind, Kakashi got up and made his way over to his very attractive distraction. Or the center of his universe. Whichever worked. 

Naruto raised his hand in greeting, a delighted grin tugging at his mouth when he noticed the copy ninja approaching. The normally fluid gate betrayed his intoxication with slight staggering here and there. 

“Sensei! Are you enjoying the party?” 

They’d specifically chosen a section of the village mostly frequented by shinobi. All the ninja felt like they could let themselves relax and enjoy all the excitement more among the people who understood their life better. It felt more homely that way. 

“What does it look like, sweetheart?” Kakashi leered and plopped down next to the left of the exuberant jinchuuriki in the most ungraceful fashion the blonde had ever seen from him. Then he proceeded to shuffle closer. 

Naruto froze, dumbfounded at the uncharacteristic reply. Slack-jawed, he looked over at the gathered people. Kiba seemed just as shocked for the moment. Choji looked bemused. So did Shikamaru who shook his head with a typical mutter of “troublesome”. Shino… sported an amused smirk. Naruto suddenly felt like he missed some sort of joke. Worse, he felt like the butt of the unknown joke. He ignored the feeling with practiced ease. 

“It looks like you’re drunk,” noted the blonde. 

Kakashi leaned even closer to whisper in his ear, “Good observation. Do you want to observe me in a different setting?” 

If anyone ever mentioned it, Naruto would deny that he squeaked or jumped off the floor like a startled cat. 

He just magically ended up laying down, head in Kakashi’s lap and long fingers of the Hokage-to-be running through his hair. 

Yeah. 

This position was also unacceptable given the setting. Naruto sat back up drawing a disgruntled grunt from Kakashi who plastered himself to the blonde’s side nuzzling his shoulder.

Naruto fruitlessly tried to move away not wanting to be pampered like a small child, or inadvertently molested, in front of his schoolmates, and practically every Konoha ninja he’d met. It was a toss up which combination was worse. 

That is not to say the hero minded the affectionate touch, especially from the person he came to love. 

It took him a while to deal with the mess of unfamiliar emotions - there was no time to learn much about romance with the need to focus on immediate and upcoming danger. The realization actually came in the middle of the war. Apparently his brain decided Naruto had stewed enough in his feelings and was now properly soaked in them throughout. Everything just clicked after that when they were fighting Obito together. 

It was an admiration that grew into affection. But that wasn’t all it was. It wasn’t blind hero worship. There was understanding too, awareness of each other’s flaws, and mutual respect. There was the unwavering loyalty and implicit trust. It was an understanding that grew into love fanned by spending prolonged periods of time together. And their growing ability to open up to each other about things most people would never hear about. 

The physical attraction didn’t hurt either. 

Now that Kakashi was so clearly not in control of himself as the man would never act this way when sober, Naruto was at a loss. Pushing away clearly did not work as the earlier scene demonstrated. The man was too persistent in cuddling Naruto in the middle of the bar, too stubborn to let him go that easily. 

His options were:

To ignore the steadily more affectionate touching,

To deal with his drunk crush who happened to be his ex-sensei, ex-team leader and Hokage-to-be,

Or to escape and evade him for an indefinite amount of time. 

Naruto did the sensible thing. He stared at his amused friends, and upon meeting Chouji’s eyes mouthed two silent words:

“Save me.” 

Kiba snickered. Naruto glared. 

Shino righted his glasses.

“I hope you enjoy the night, Naruto. I believe it is time we let you spend some time with Kakashi sensei. You’ve been pining for months now.” 

“What?!” The loud screech only affected the immediate area, but it gave a few people more excuse to observe the scene. Not that they needed one to watch the proceedings. Being gossips came with the job.

Apparently Kakashi did not like the open staring because his grip on Naruto tightened and he growled lowly - a sound only Naruto seemed to pick up on as it reverberated throughout his frame. It actually felt very pleasant, like a cat’s purr instead of a menacing growl. 

For all of two seconds Naruto felt very warm and content. Then mortification returned full force. 

“I don’t-” He cut himself off with a gasp when the grip around him tightened even more and a hand slipped under his shirt. “What the hell, sensei?!” 

“Shhh, you can scream all you want later. Just let me hold you, sunshine.” The words were quiet, whispered in his ear. 

They were just loud enough for his friends to hear. 

Kiba barked out a laugh and sauntered off with a “Have fun, fox-breath!” to which  _ Naruto _ growled.

The brunette was followed by Shino after the Aburame stared at Naruto for a few moments. “Talk to him when he is sober. You’ll regret it if you don’t.” 

“You should reconsider your reservations, Naruto,” piped up Chouji. “It doesn’t look like Kakashi sensei is very against the idea of dating you.” 

“Troublesome. They are right, you know. Since when were you afraid to act on your emotions? We’ll see you later.” 

Naruto watched as his friends abandoned him to deal with his drunk crush/ex-sensei. Alone. He groaned. 

Kakashi frowned. Naruto should be smiling, not grimacing as if he was in pain. In fact, Kakashi wanted to protect the jinchuuriki from any pain. There’d been enough suffering in his life - far too much actually. With that thought in mind he poked one whiskered cheek. 

“Naruto,” He waited until the blonde turned those pretty, pretty eyes on him. It didn’t take long at all. They flew up to his face upon the first touch, “smiiiile. Or tell me what's wrong. You can trust me, y’know that, right?” 

Naruto took in the earnest expression, the sincere desire to help once more like so many times in the past, and gave in with a sight. Maybe this situation would be forgotten altogether given how drunk Kakashi was. He started slurring his words after all - a sure sign alcohol continued its work.

“Why are you doing this, sensei? The touching, the innuendos, this...clinging? Is it another joke?” Naruto suddenly looked incredibly vulnerable. Gone was the strongest shinobi in the world leaving behind an attention-starved child who only wanted to be loved. 

“Of course not. It’s not a joke.”

“Then  _ why _ ?”   
  


“Because I love you. Annnnd you need the affection.” Naruto opened his mouth to protest but a finger pressed to his lips preventing words from escaping. “Shhh, lemme finish. You deserve t’know people love you. I love you. And I can’t say it if I’m sober, soo…

I am doing it now.” 

Naruto smiled - a true, happy smile.

“Thank you.” The blonde whispered his gratitude like a secret, something only for the two of them, before returning the hug.

“You’re w’lcome. Pretty. Have I told you before you have the best smile? It lights up my world.” Naruto stared. “And the bluest eyes. Like the ocean. They make me want t’be lost at sea.” 

A laugh bubbled up and the blonde let it go. Any and all tension that managed to creep up on the two melted away.

Kakashi felt rather proud of the result. If more cheesy, but no less true, lines made Naruto relax and laugh in happiness, he would continue to say them. At least until the pleasant buzz passed. Was that the feeling of being in love or just alcohol? Perhaps it was both those things at once, working together and tangling his emotions into an indistinguishable mess that spilled out of his mouth with no control whatsoever. 

“Sometimes I wonder if I’m still trapped In The Infinite Tsukuyomi. Because you're my dream guy." He didn’t even pause before saying the next line that came to mind. “I wonder if something is wrong with my eyes, ‘cause I can't take them off of you.”

The laughter got louder. “Sensei! Kakashi! Please stop. I ca- can’t breath!” Naruto was choking on the words. A mixture of relief, elation, and sheer shock at the absurdity of the situation making it seem funnier than it probably was. Especially when he imagined the faces of his other teammates upon walking in on Kakashi spouting those corny lines to him like they were his excuses to be late. 

“But it got you to laugh. I like when you laugh. It’s like the best music.” 

Who would have imagined that he’d ever say such a sappy line? Definitely not younger Kakashi. 

Naruto was still smiling after his laughing fit passed. 

“You know you don’t have to use pick-up lines on me.” 

“Why not?”   
  
“You already picked up my heart. And I don’t mind leaving it in your hands.” 

They stared at each other in silence. Naruto could almost see the gears turning as Kakashi tried to process those words. For whatever reason, his usually-sharp team leader couldn’t make sense of the sentence judging by the frown. 

Kakashi himself was stuck in disbelief because there was no way his sunshine just said what he thought he did. Not even his drunk logic agreed to process those words to mean what he so desperately wanted them to mean.

Never one for patience, Naruto decided to help him along.

“I love you too.” 

It finally clicked. The last piece of this night’s puzzle. Now they just needed to admire the result. 

“Good. Cuddles. Now. Let’s go.”

“Huh?!”

They stumbled out of the bar, mostly due to being under the influence. After all, if Kakashi wasn’t smashed he probably wouldn’t have clung onto Naruto, and they probably wouldn’t be making their way through the crowd with the goal of reaching Kakashi’s apartment. 

When Naruto asked why they couldn’t go to  _ his _ apartment instead as it was closer, he only got mumbles in response. The few words he caught included “scent”, “home”, “safe”, “bed”, and “warm” - not very telling, but Naruto gathered that he would get no straight answer with how single-minded Kakashi appeared to be about dragging him home. 

The frosty air cleared some of the buzz and sobered them up. It brought clarity to their situation. Here they were: walking home, together in a way neither could imagine they’d be by the end of the night. This drunk interaction did not mean they were together, but it hinted at the potential for such a development. 

At least Naruto knew his feelings were reciprocated. He just needed to get a sober confession now. They’d work from there.

“Why can’t you tell me you love me when you’re sober?”

“I dunno. Ask sober logic.” 

Yes, much was up in the air still. 

Like the snow which began to fall during their unhurried walk. Unhurried now that they were away from the crowd. 

The white flakes gathered on their hair and clothes, melted upon contact with their skin, and left them both glimmering and sparkling in the soft glow of the moon as they made their way home. 

It felt comforting to experience this magical moment together. To have this moment after they thought the world may not exist anymore. 

“Don’t worry. I will. 

After the cuddles.” 

Naruto’s eyes shone with the same determination he’d shown on the battlefield. The blue sparkles of the snow - a shadow of that fire.    
  


Kakashi knew he wouldn’t be getting out of this without revealing his feelings whenever sobriety came. 

For now, it felt reassuring. 

  
  
  



End file.
